Video: Brittany Witt's highlight vs. Papillion-LaVista South
See the Marian High libero in action back in 2012.Marian (Omaha) proved once again last November that sometimes postseason experience does trump regular season greatness after knocking off top-ranked and 42-0 Papillion-LaVista in the Class A state title game at the Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.
After winning just three sets in five regular season losses to the Monarchs, the Crusaders were able to dial up their state title experience, refocus and pull out a 25-19, 16-25, 25-20, 25-15 win for the championship hardware.
According to returning Super-State libero
Brittany Witt, Omaha Marian players just had to have a little bit of faith in one another.
"We had to believe in ourselves," the 5-foot-8-inch Witt said.. "We knew we would have to work harder after losing to them five times last season.
"Once the realization that we had won sunk in, I was so overwhelmed. I was kind of shocked and excited all at the same time. I remember thinking, ‘Did that just happen?'"
In the weeks that followed another successful Crusader run through a Class A state volleyball bracket, Omaha Marian head coach Rochelle Rohlfs announced that she was stepping down and that she would hand the reins of the fully loaded program over to five-year assistant Amy McLeay.
Stepping in for a coach that compiled a 721-245 record over 26 years, won four state titles and finished as Nebraska's big school runner-up on four other occasions can be an intimidating task for any coach. But McLeay took comfort in the fact that Rohlfs left the Crusader program in tip-top shape.
"I am honored to be able to take over this program," McLeay added. "There is definitely a lot of pressure here to carry on with the same level of commitment and trust that Rochelle built into this program. The expectations here are always high, and we are going to work hard every day to maintain this program, that because of Rochelle, is second to none."
Back to make McLeay's transition from assistant coach to head coach a little easier are nine seniors, including Witt and fellow all-state seniors
Sophia Terwilleger (5-9, OH/RS),
Elizabeth Loschen (6-2, RS/MB),
Andie Hanus (5-7, L/DS) and
Maren McGuire (5-6, S).
Marian is hoping its tight-knit group will be just as successful with a new coach taking over.
Photo courtesy of Katie Wright
Competing in an environment created by Rohlfs and McLeay to bring out the best in each Crusader, Witt couldn't help but put together a solid stat line a year ago that landed her on every postseason team imaginable at season's end. The Creighton commit dug up 738 enemy attacks and was successful on 640 serve receptions. A four-year member of the varsity team, Witt was also credited with 52 aces and three kills. Heading into her final prep season, Witt has already accumulated 1,623 serve receptions and 1,860 digs.
"We've been on the court together for three years now, so we know what we are doing out there," Witt said. "I really like our chemistry. We're all really close. But we understand too that our back is against the wall. Everybody will be out to get us, so we are all trying to make each other better."
Loschen, who landed on the first, second or third team on every all-state team, produced a .307 hitting percentage in 2014 while putting down 357 kills. The University of South Dakota commit added 59 total blocks, 90 digs and 13 aces to her volleyball resume.
Before becoming a member of the Lincoln Journal Star's first-team all-state team, Terwilleger slapped down a team-high 370 kills, dug up 456 balls and was credited with 24 blocks and 45 aces during her junior campaign.
A thorn in the side of every opposing offense, Hanus was credited with 350 digs a year ago. The Missouri recruit also accumulated 426 serve receptions and 34 aces on her way to being selected to Nebraska Prep Volleyball's first-team all-state squad.
McGuire, meanwhile, was selected to the website's second team after she led the champions with 1,095 set assists and was credited with 319 digs, 46 kills and 35 aces.
Back competing for starting roles and as much playing time as possible are seniors
Elise Duryea (142 kills, 35 solo blocks, 23 aces),
Hannah Mueller (276 kills, 25 blocks, 77 digs),
Kate Ruffalo (27 solo blocks, 15 kills, 12 aces) and
Kate Belford (32 kills, 34 digs).
Junior
Mary Katherine Wolfe (29 kills, 156 digs) and sophomore
Lily Heim (309 set assists, 76 digs) are also set to contribute for the Crusaders, who open 2015 play at the Bellevue West Invite on Friday.
In order to avoid any kind of let downs throughout the season, Witt said that the Crusaders (38-7) were going to focus on playing Omaha Marian standard volleyball in each match regardless of the level of competition they were facing on any given night.
"One of our goals this year is to play at our level every time we walk onto the floor – not at the level of our competition," she said. "And we're trying to focus on finding all-around players. I know that might be hard on our hitters, but we really need them to take on more of an all-around role. You can only have so many DS's out there. We're trying to focus on creating more all-around sound players in this program."
Witt and McLeay, who have selected Papillion-LaVista (42-1), Papillion-LaVista South (25-16), Lincoln Southwest (20-12) and Millard West (29-7) as their main challengers for 2015's state title, both agree that there won't be much of a drop off in play when Crusader bench players take the floor during competition.
"I think our strength is our depth," McLeay said. "Everybody is getting challenged every day at their positions from our underclassmen. They're all really close and that raises the level of play in the gym. The girls in this program are extremely confident and they're extremely motivated."
